Smartsheet SMAR under CEO Mark Mader

Smartsheet SMAR under CEO Mark Mader

 

 

HEXAGRAM 16 – Yu – Enthusiasm

Above    CHEN    THE AROUSING, THUNDER

Below    K’UN    THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH

The strong line in the fourth place, that of the leading official,

meets with response and obedience from all the other lines, which are all weak.

• The attribute of the upper trigram, Chen, is movement;
  
• the attributes of K’un, the lower, are obedience and devotion.
  

This begins a movement that

• meets with devotion
  

and therefore

• inspires enthusiasm, carrying all with it.
  

Of great importance, furthermore, is

the law of movement along the line of least resistance,

which in this hexagram is enunciated as the law

• for natural events and
  
• for human life.
  

 

THE JUDGMENT

ENTHUSIASM.

It furthers one

• to install helpers And
  
• to set armies marching.
  

The time of ENTHUSIASM derives from the fact that there is at hand

an eminent man who

• is in sympathy with the spirit of the people and
  
• acts in accord with it.
  

Hence he finds universal and willing obedience.

To arouse enthusiasm it is necessary for a man to adjust himself and his ordinances

to the character of those whom he has to lead.

The inviolability of natural laws rests on this principle of

movement along the line of least resistance.

These laws are not forces external to things

but represent the harmony of movement immanent in them.

That is

• why the celestial bodies do not deviate from their orbits and
  
• why all events in nature occur with fixed regularity.
  

It is the same with human society:

• only such laws as are rooted in popular sentiment can be enforced,
  
• while laws violating this sentiment merely arouse resentment.
  

Again,

it is enthusiasm that enables us to install helpers

for the completion of an undertaking without fear of secret opposition.

It is enthusiasm too that can unify mass movements, as in war,

so that they achieve victory.

 

THE IMAGE

Thunder comes resounding out of the earth: The image of ENTHUSIASM.

Thus the ancient kings

• made music In order to honor merit, And
  
• offered it with splendor To the Supreme Deity,
  
• Inviting their ancestors to be present.
  

When, at the beginning of summer,

• thunder – electrical energy – comes rushing forth from the earth again, and
  
• the first thunderstorm refreshes nature,
  

a prolonged state of tension is resolved.

Joy and relief make themselves felt.

So too,

music has power

• to ease tension within the heart and
  
• to loosen the grip of obscure emotions.
  

The enthusiasm of the heart expresses itself involuntarily

• in a burst of song,
  
• in dance and rhythmic movement of the body.
  

From immemorial times

the inspiring effect of the invisible sound that

• moves all hearts, and
  
• draws them together,
  

has mystified mankind.

Rulers have made use of this natural taste for music;

they elevated and regulated it.

Music was looked upon as something serious and holy,

designed to purify the feelings of men.

It fell to music

• to glorify the virtues of heroes and thus
  
• to construct a bridge to the world of the unseen.
  

In the temple men drew near to God with music and pantomimes

(out of this later the theater developed).

Religious feeling for the Creator of the world was united with

the most sacred of human feelings,

that of reverence for the ancestors.

The ancestors were invited to these divine services

• as guests of the Ruler of Heaven and
  
• as representatives of humanity in the higher regions.
  

This uniting of the human past with the Divinity

in solemn moments of religious inspiration

established the bond between God and man.

The ruler who revered the Divinity in revering his ancestors

became thereby the Son of Heaven,

in whom the heavenly and the earthly world met in mystical contact.

These ideas are the final summation of Chinese culture.

Confucius has said of the great sacrifice at which these rites were performed:

“He who

• could wholly comprehend this sacrifice
  
• could rule the world as though it were spinning on his hand.”
  

 

THE LINES

 

Six in the second place means:

Firm as a rock.

Not a whole day.

Perseverance brings good fortune.

This describes a person who does not allow himself to be misled by any illusions.

While

• others are letting themselves be dazzled by enthusiasm,
  
• he recognizes with perfect clarity the first signs of the time.
  

Thus

he

• neither flatters those above
  
• nor neglects those beneath him;
  

he is as firm as a rock.

When the first sign of discord appears,

he

• knows the right moment for withdrawing and
  
• does not delay even for a day.
  

Perseverance in such conduct will bring good fortune.

Confucius says about this line:

“To know the seeds, that is divine indeed.

• In his association with those above him, the superior man does not flatter.
  
• In his association with those beneath him, he is not arrogant.
  

For he knows the seeds.

The seeds are

• the first imperceptible beginning of movement,
  
• the first trace of good fortune (or misfortune) that shows itself.
  

The superior man

• perceives the seeds and
  
• immediately takes action.
  

He does not wait even a whole day.

In the Book of Changes it is said:

“Firm as a rock.

Not a whole day.

Perseverance brings good fortune.”

Firm as a rock, what need of a whole day?

The judgment can be known.

The superior man knows

• what is hidden and
  
• what is evident.
  

• He knows weakness,
  
• he knows strength as well.
  

Hence the myriad’s look up to him.

 

0 Nine in the fourth place means:

The source of enthusiasm.

He achieves great things.

Doubt not.

You gather friends around you

As a hair clasp gathers the hair.

This describes a man who is able to awaken enthusiasm through his

• own sureness and
  
• freedom from hesitation.
  

He attracts people because he

• has no doubts and
  
• is wholly sincere.
  

Owing to his confidence in them he

• wins their enthusiastic cooperation and
  
• attains success.
  

Just as

• a clasp draws the hair together and holds it, so
  
• he draws men together by the support he gives them.
  

 

Six at the top means:

Deluded enthusiasm.

But if after completion one changes,

There is no blame.

It is a bad thing for a man to let himself be deluded by enthusiasm.

But if

this delusion has run its course, and

he is still capable of changing,

he is freed of error.

A sober awakening from false enthusiasm is

• quite possible and
  
• very favorable.
  

 

 

MOVING HEXAGRAM

 

 

HEXAGRAM 04 – Meng – Youthful Folly

Above    KEN    KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN

Below    K’AN    THE ABYSMAL, WATER

In this hexagram we are reminded of youth and folly, in two different ways.

• The image of the upper trigram, Ken, is the mountain, that of the lower, K’an, is water;
  
  • the spring rising at the foot of the mountain is the image of inexperienced youth.
    
• Keeping still is the attribute of the upper trigram; that of the lower is the abyss, danger.
  
  • Stopping in perplexity on the brink of a dangerous abyss is a symbol of the folly of youth.
    

However, the two trigrams also show the way of overcoming the follies of youth.

Water is something that of necessity flows on.

When the spring gushes forth, it does not know at first where it will go.

But its steady flow fills up the deep place blocking its progress, and success is attained.

 

THE JUDGMENT

YOUTHFUL FOLLY has success.

It is not I who seek the young fool;

The young fool seeks me.

At the first oracle I inform him.

If he asks two or three times, it is importunity.

If he importunes, I give him no information.

Perseverance furthers.

In the time of youth, folly is not an evil.

One may succeed in spite of it, provided one

• finds an experienced teacher and
  
• has the right attitude toward him.
  

This means, first of all, that the youth himself

• must be conscious of his lack of experience and
  
• must seek out the teacher.
  

Without this modesty and this interest there is no guarantee that he has the necessary receptivity,

which should express itself in respectful acceptance of the teacher.

This is the reason why the teacher must wait to be sought out instead of offering himself.

Only thus can the instruction take place

• at the right time and
  
• in the right way.
  

A teacher’s answer to the question of a pupil ought to be clear and definite

like that expected from an oracle;

thereupon it ought to be accepted as

• a key for resolution of doubts and
  
• a basis for decision.
  

If mistrustful or unintelligent questioning is kept up,

it serves only to annoy the teacher.

He does well to ignore it in silence,

just as the oracle

• gives one answer only and
  
• refuses to be tempted by questions implying doubt.
  

Given in addition a perseverance that never slackens

until the points are mastered one by one,

real success is sure to follow.

Thus the hexagram counsels

• the teacher as well as
  
• the pupil.
  

 

THE IMAGE

A spring wells up at the foot of the mountain: The image of YOUTH.

Thus the superior man fosters his character

By thoroughness in all that he does.

A spring

• succeeds in flowing on and
  
• escapes stagnation by filling up all the hollow places in its path.
  

In the same way character is developed by thoroughness that skips nothing but, like water,

gradually and steadily fills up all gaps and so flows onward.

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